European Western Balkanshttps://europeanwesternbalkans.com
Fri, 24 May 2019 15:08:36 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.9https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/cropped-PNG_logo-32x32.pngEuropean Western Balkanshttps://europeanwesternbalkans.com
3232Cabinet of Commissioner Hahn confirms: Enlargement Package to be published on May 29https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2019/05/24/cabinet-commissioner-hahn-confirms-enlargement-package-published-may-29/
Fri, 24 May 2019 15:06:29 +0000https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/?p=31318BRUSSELS – Despite some information that 2019 Enlargement Package is going to be postponed, the European Western Balkans finds out that the adoption and publication of the Enlargement package are scheduled, as foreseen, on May 29. The Cabinet of Commissioner Johannes Hahn confirmed for the European Western Balkans that the publication of 2019 Enlargement package […]

]]>BRUSSELS – Despite some information that 2019 Enlargement Package is going to be postponed, the European Western Balkans finds out that the adoption and publication of the Enlargement package are scheduled, as foreseen, on May 29.

The Cabinet of Commissioner Johannes Hahn confirmed for the European Western Balkans that the publication of 2019 Enlargement package will be on next Wednesday, as planned.

There has been some information on postponement today, due to the fact that there is a very short period of time between May 29 (when the publication is scheduled) and June 18 (when the ministerial meeting should take place), where the Member States should decide on opening negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia.

As EWB earlier announced, extraordinary European Parliament’s Committee of Foreign Affairs’ (AFET) meeting, where Commissioner Hahn will present 2019 Enlargement Package, will be held on May 29, it is announced in the official AFET agenda. The meeting, which will be held just a few days after the EU elections, is scheduled for 11:00.

]]>Joint cabinet session of Montenegro and North Macedonia: Stronger economic cooperation neededhttps://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2019/05/24/joint-cabinet-session-montenegro-north-macedonia-stronger-economic-cooperation-needed/
Fri, 24 May 2019 13:50:29 +0000https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/?p=31316PODGORICA – Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković and Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev, at joint session of the Government of Montenegro and the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, concluded that they share the same values and foreign policy commitments. They also decided that the governments have to make additional efforts to […]

]]>PODGORICA – Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković and Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev, at joint session of the Government of Montenegro and the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, concluded that they share the same values and foreign policy commitments. They also decided that the governments have to make additional efforts to implement projects and establish more intensive economic cooperation so that the results could lead to qualitative progress and valorization of great potential in numerous economic branches. As a positive example of effective cooperation between the two countries, the Prime Minister of Montenegro referred to the Euro-Atlantic integration, saying that Montenegro was one of the first countries to ratify the Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of North Macedonia.

]]>Ruiz Calavera: Vetting of the judiciary achieves very tangible resultshttps://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2019/05/24/ruiz-calavera-vetting-judiciary-achieves-tangible-results/
Fri, 24 May 2019 09:53:30 +0000https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/?p=31299BRUSSELS – The vetting of the judiciary achieved very tangible results and the people of Albania deserve special praise, writes Genoveva Ruiz Calavera, Director for the Western Balkans at the European Commission and Chair of the International Monitoring Operation (IMO). Ruiz Calavera explains that a little over a year has passed since the Independent Qualification Commission held the […]

]]>BRUSSELS – The vetting of the judiciary achieved very tangible results and the people of Albania deserve special praise, writes Genoveva Ruiz Calavera, Director for the Western Balkans at the European Commission and Chair of the International Monitoring Operation (IMO).

Ruiz Calavera explains that a little over a year has passed since the Independent Qualification Commission held the first hearing in the framework of the vetting process, since then, the first instance vetting institution has adopted more than 140 decisions.

“The very tangible results achieved to date have allowed us to take stock of this first year of intense work and to address the challenges that lie ahead, considering that vetting is going to continue for some years to complete the evaluation of over 800 judges and prosecutors,” she writes on the website of the Delegation of the European Union to Albania.

Because of this, she points out that the people of Albania deserve special praise, and that with their strong determination that the judiciary across the country is being cleared of corruption.

“In the past six months, the IMO received close to 250 denunciations from individual citizens, private enterprises, NGOs and public institutions. This readiness to contribute demonstrates that citizens trust that vetting is going in the right direction to respond to the legitimate public aspirations,” she explains, adding that the newly created structures of the judiciary also deserve special encouragement.

On the other hand, the Director emphasises that rigorous work by the Appellate Chamber is now very important to dispel any concerns about the unbiased administration of justice.

She adds that it is the responsibility of all Albanian institutions, political parties, as well as civil society, to ensure that the strengthening of the independence, impartiality and accountability of the judiciary through this process is guaranteed.

The EU, together with the US in the IMO, will continue supporting this process, she explains, so that the people of Albania can benefit from the reform and take pride in the change that they demanded.

“The months ahead will be crucial as Albania moves from the transition phase of judicial reform to its full implementation. The vetting bodies will ensure the continuous handling of priority cases so that the new institutions can be fully established,” Ruiz Calavera concludes.

]]>North Macedonia: Accelerating reforms, accelerating European integrationhttps://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2019/05/24/north-macedonia-accelerating-reforms-accelerating-european-integration/
Fri, 24 May 2019 09:09:08 +0000https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/?p=31280BRUSSELS – With the Prespa Agreement, Skopje and Athens put an end to a nearly 30-year long dispute. Questions on how progress achieved by Skopje is linked to economic development, prospects and challenges, and what headline structural reforms are needed for the country’s EU accession aspirations, will be discussed at the event organised by the Centre for European […]

]]>BRUSSELS – With the Prespa Agreement, Skopje and Athens put an end to a nearly 30-year long dispute. Questions on how progress achieved by Skopje is linked to economic development, prospects and challenges, and what headline structural reforms are needed for the country’s EU accession aspirations, will be discussed at the event organised by the Centre for European Policy Studies on June 5.

Topics to be addressed will include progress relating to rule of law and the fight against corruption, how to maintain the independence of the Special Prosecutor and Reform of the Public Administration as well as Public Procurement to ensure more favourable business environment.

Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn and EBRD Vice-President Pierre Heilbronn will discuss North Macedonia’s role in the Western Balkans region and the strategic priorities for EU accession.

]]>Prelec: The Western Balkans is not a priority question for the EU ahead of electionshttps://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2019/05/23/prelec-western-balkans-not-priority-question-eu/
Thu, 23 May 2019 15:52:10 +0000https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/?p=31282LONDON – The Western Balkans is not mentioned in this election campaign, let alone in a positive aspect, says researcher at the London School of Economics and Politics and member of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) Tena Prelec in an interview with Radio Free Europe. In addition, she thinks that the EU elections […]

]]>LONDON – The Western Balkans is not mentioned in this election campaign, let alone in a positive aspect, says researcher at the London School of Economics and Politics and member of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) Tena Prelec in an interview with Radio Free Europe.

In addition, she thinks that the EU elections will result with the pro-European majority even though there is a decrease of the influence of the mainstream parties and the rise of populist and far-right parties across the continent.

“Marginal options coming from both poles have become stronger, so we are not going to have only eurosceptics and conservatives. According to the polls, Greens will also get more votes,” says Prelec, adding that it is almost certain that EPP will lose the majority in the European Parliament.

What is likely to happen is the coalition made of EPP, S&D and ALDE, which means there will be fragmentation, she believes and that it will be harder to achieve the compromise, but in the end, the majority in EP will be pro-European orientation.

As for the Western Balkans and how the EU elections will influence the region, Prelec thinks that the Western Balkans is not that important question for the EU in comparison with the other problems the EU is facing.

“Almost no one mentioned the enlargement during this election campaign and for a long period of time, it is hard to find a unified position towards the region,” underlines Prelec, adding two reasons for it: the UK which is in favour of the enlargement, but it lost its strong voice due to Brexit, and the issue between Serbia and Kosovo which has become the main problem for the US and the EU political circles since last year.

As she points out, the idea of territory swap divided EU member states, and it seems that the position of German Chancellor Angela Merkel which is strongly against this idea, became important and generally accepted after the Berlin meeting.

However, this idea was not totally unsuccessful in the US, which is why it will be difficult to find a mutual position towards this problem in the EU and the US.

“Now, it will be even more difficult to agree on a common position on this issue, both in the EU and on the transatlantic level. I am afraid it will stay like this in the upcoming years but we should wait for the EU elections as well as the ones in the US which will be held in 2020,” points out Prelec.

The rise of the right parties could slow down the Balkans’ on its path towards the EU but Prelec argues that even though eurosceptic parties are fragmented, these parties are not the only one which will become stronger.

“We need to wait for the results because there could be a surprise. For example, there were many politicians coming from Greens which played a constructive role regarding the Western Balkans. So, what could happen is that apart of a few ‘enemies’, the Western Balkans could gain some unexpected friends in the European Parliament,” Prelec underlines.

European Commission’s poll shows that citizens have lost enthusiasm regarding EU integration. Prelec states that one of the reasons lies in the Union’s inconsistency regarding the promises made to the Western Balkan countries.

“Therefore, the priority of the new EP should be consistency in fulfilling promises, as well as deep work on strengthening the rule of law in the Western Balkans; not only in dialogue with the political leaders of the region but also with civil society,” Prelec concludes.

]]>Western Balkans: Infrastructure and energy from a geopolitical perspectivehttps://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2019/05/22/western-balkans-infrastructure-energy-geopolitical-perspective/
Wed, 22 May 2019 16:03:50 +0000https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/?p=31237WARSAW – Infrastructure, energy and geopolitics are some of the topics which will be discussed at the international conference “Western Balkans: Infrastructure and energy from a geopolitical perspective” at the University of Warsaw on May 29. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Szymon Szynkowski vel. Sęk will deliver the keynote speech followed by the report presentation […]

]]>WARSAW – Infrastructure, energy and geopolitics are some of the topics which will be discussed at the international conference “Western Balkans: Infrastructure and energy from a geopolitical perspective” at the University of Warsaw on May 29.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Szymon Szynkowski vel. Sęk will deliver the keynote speech followed by the report presentation on the situation in the Western Balkans while examining the involvement of individual global actors in the region.

Development of road, railway, aviation and maritime infrastructure in the Western Balkans, new transport infrastructure initiatives in the Western Balkans, major foreign-funded infrastructure investments in individual countries and regional investments financed under EU, Russian, Chinese and Turkish projects are the topics which will be discussed at the first panel dedicated to the field of infrastructure.

Topics of the second panel will be energy projects in the Western Balkan region and possibilities to boost energy security in Europe, analysis of the current regional energy needs and accessible energy sources, and external dependence on energy supplies in individual countries.

The third panel will deal with the geopolitical approach to the Western Balkans’ cooperation with China, the European Union,
Russia, Turkey, and the United States. Other topics will include regional development of the Western Balkans as the core objective of EU policy, Western Balkans as a “gateway” for Chinese trade to Europe: Beijing’s energy and infrastructure investments, and NATO enlargement process in the region.

The event is part of the official program of Poland’s presidency of the Berlin Process and serves as a preparatory meeting for the 2019 Western Balkans Summit in Poznań.

The conference will be attended by top state administration from both the Western Balkans and the European Union, as well as leading scholars and experts, representatives of non-governmental organisations and media.

It will be held under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and co-organized by geopolitical quarterly “The Warsaw Institute Review”.

]]>Stoltenberg to visit North Macedonia in Junehttps://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2019/05/22/stoltenberg-visit-north-macedonia-june/
Wed, 22 May 2019 15:44:04 +0000https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/?p=31273SKOPJE – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will pay an official two day visit to the Republic of North Macedonia on June 2. As previously announced, North Atlantic Council will pay the visit as well. During the visit, Stoltenberg and members of the Council plan to meet the country’s top officials. This is the first […]

]]>SKOPJE – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will pay an official two day visit to the Republic of North Macedonia on June 2. As previously announced, North Atlantic Council will pay the visit as well. During the visit, Stoltenberg and members of the Council plan to meet the country’s top officials. This is the first visit of Stoltenberg and senior NATO officials to North Macedonia since NATO allies signed Protocol on the accession of North Macedonia to NATO. So far, the parliaments of 13 out of 29 member states of the Alliance ratified the Accession Protocol. Once the Protocol is ratified in each of the 29 Allies, according to national procedures, the country will become a full member of NATO.

]]>Bieber: Strache’s resignation good sign for the Western Balkanshttps://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2019/05/22/bieber-straches-resignation-good-sign-western-balkans/
Wed, 22 May 2019 11:46:31 +0000https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/?p=31256GRAZ – The resignation of the Vice-Chancellor of Austria and the Freedom Party’s leader Heinz-Christian Strache is a good sign for the Western Balkans, due to the fact that its party was not working in the interests of EU enlargement, thinks professor of the University of Graz Florian Bieber. As he points out for the Radio Free Europe, […]

]]>GRAZ – The resignation of the Vice-Chancellor of Austria and the Freedom Party’s leader Heinz-Christian Strache is a good sign for the Western Balkans, due to the fact that its party was not working in the interests of EU enlargement, thinks professor of the University of Graz Florian Bieber.

As he points out for the Radio Free Europe, the resignation of the Vice-Chancellor and the crash of its party leaves his political friends and allies in the Western Balkans without an alternative among European populists and far-right politicians, adding that the government’s crisis in Austria is “pretty-much good sign” for the Balkans.

“It may be encouraging for the region, because, after all, even if they said some pro-Serb statements they do not want enlargement because they do not believe deeply in the idea of EU integration and reforms. In that sense, it is a good sign for the Balkans,” says Bieber.

“Double signals which the Balkans received from Austria in the last two years were harmful to the region because Austria was one of the main supporters of the enlargement and Strache and his politics have impeded the continuation of this position,” Bieber states.

He believes that with Strache’s resignation, the influence of extreme nationalist parties of the region on the Austrian government will decrease.

“This resignation also has an impact on Europe’s far-right wing because it sends the message that they are not uncorrupted like they have presented themselves,” explains Bieber.

As he adds that this does not come as a big surprise, but European elections will show in which way and how this will affect the result of far-right parties in Europe.

In the end, maybe it is a message for political parties of the centre not to see those parties as potential partners, because you cannot count on them, Biber underlines.

Everything now depends on the further investigation which should be run by some Austrian judiciary so the background of this whole affair could be discovered, Bieber concludes.

]]>Greece carries out first flight patrol over North Macedoniahttps://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2019/05/22/greece-carries-first-flight-patrol-north-macedonia/
Wed, 22 May 2019 10:51:38 +0000https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/?p=31258ATHENS – Greek F-16 fighter jet returned to Larissa home base on Tuesday after making the first patrol over North Macedonia’s sky as part of the agreement that North Macedonia’s air space will be guarded by Greece, reports Kathimerini. The purpose of the mission was to locate any radar blank sectors and to test the […]

]]>ATHENS – Greek F-16 fighter jet returned to Larissa home base on Tuesday after making the first patrol over North Macedonia’s sky as part of the agreement that North Macedonia’s air space will be guarded by Greece, reports Kathimerini. The purpose of the mission was to locate any radar blank sectors and to test the compatibility of reconnaissance systems. In the future, Greek planes will continue their patrols over North Macedonia. Surveillance of North Macedonia’s air space was part of the the Prespa Agreement signed between Athens and Skopje last summer, and has been part of NATO policy for the past 12 years. Greece already conducts surveillance over Montenegro and Albania.

]]>Extraordinary AFET meeting to be held on May 29https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2019/05/22/extraordinary-afet-meeting-held-may-29/
Wed, 22 May 2019 10:31:48 +0000https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/?p=31254BRUSSELS – Extraordinary European Parliament’s Committee of Foreign Affairs’ (AFET) meeting, where Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn will present 2019 Enlargement Package, will be held on May 29, it is announced in the official AFET agenda. The meeting, which will be held just a few days after the EU elections, is scheduled […]

]]>BRUSSELS – Extraordinary European Parliament’s Committee of Foreign Affairs’ (AFET) meeting, where Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn will present 2019 Enlargement Package, will be held on May 29, it is announced in the official AFET agenda.

The meeting, which will be held just a few days after the EU elections, is scheduled for 11:00.

The chief negotiator for the accession of the Republic of Serbia to the European Union Tanja Miščević warned that the delay in the publishing of the 2019 Enlargement Package could be a problem for Serbia and other Western Balkan countries.

“If the report gets published at the end of May, we will be in problem with time. The progress in chapters is measured by the annual country progress report, so if it comes too late, how will the Member States be able to properly assess whether the progress has been made,” said Miščević at the conference “The importance of Romanian Presidency of the EU for Serbia and the Western Balkans” held in February in Belgrade.

As the European Western Balkans previously published, the Chairman of Delegation to the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee Eduard Kukan announced that the extraordinary AFET meeting will be scheduled for May 29. On that occasion, Kukan, who was a Member of the European Parliament in two mandates, said he will not run for another one.